“Biggest Loser” Winner Gains 20 Pounds

“The Biggest Loser” caught a lot of heat earlier this year when last season’s winner, Rachel Frederickson, appeared on the finale looking shockingly thin. Frederickson herself took a lot of backlash from both viewers and the media, but now that she’s spent some time at home, she says she’s gained 20 pounds and is right where she wants to be.

“I think I’m at my perfect weight!” she said. “I work out an hour, six days a week. I love classes like SoulCycle. I also loosely count calories, but sometimes I might eat an Oreo. It’s not the end of the world.”

The 24-year old initially lost 150 pounds–nearly 60% of her total body weight–and shocked even the trainers when she came out from backstage on the show’s finale. According to National Institute of Health, Frederickson was considered underweight at the time for her height. And while many cried “anorexia” after seeing her surprisingly slim frame, she says she simply found the athlete inside her once again.

“My journey was about finding that confident girl and little by little, challenge by challenge that athlete came out and it sparked inside that feeling that I can do anything,” she said of her record-breaking weight loss. “I used to be a swimmer and I was in a relationship and I stopped swimming for a relationship. And I lost the self-confidence and self-worth…I feel so alive and energetic. You don’t ever have to hide that light, just let it shine.”

The backlash her appearance caused might not have been welcome at the time, but ultimately, Frederickson says, it was a good thing.